The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta state, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has promised to ensure that the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) meet her mandate of developing oil-bearing communities in the state if elected as governor.
Omo-Agege, who is the Deputy President of the Senate, said DESOPADEC, unlike Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s era, will be fully functional and funded to meet the yearnings and aspirations of oil and gas producing communities in the state.
He disclosed that he has struck an agreement with the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to revive ailing seaports in the state including the Burutu and Warri seaports if the former Lagos state governor wins next year’s presidential election.
Omo-Agege gave the assurance on Tuesday in Burutu town when the APC ward-to-ward campaign train visited Burutu ward 10 and 11 in Burutu local government area of the state.
The Delta Central lawmaker decried that Burutu which used to be the economic hub of the state with one of Nigeria’s best seaports and Delta Timber Industry (DTI), Burutu has been left to rot away despite the council’s monumental contribution to the nation and Delta’s economy.
The APC governorship candidate, while promising to “bring back Burutu to its glory days”, vowed to end the marginalisation of any section of the state by ensuring that development gets to all parts under him as governor.
He also promised that his administration will tackle the issue of absence of power supply in Burutu council and ensure that the all-important Ayakoromo bridge which connects several Ijaw and Urhobo communities was completed.
“I can assure you that as a governor, we’ll restore the glory days of Burutu when Elder Godsday Orubebe was the council chairman when there was electricity and the Delta Timber Industry was thriving. Today, Burutu is a shadow of its old-self, and yet, we have a sitting governor who came to Burutu to campaign in 2015 and 2019 where he promised prosperity for all Deltans.
“But when you go round Burutu today, what you see is lack and decaying infrastructures. Governor Okowa, then, came to deceive Ijaw people. But we are here with your leader and former council chairman (Elder Godsday Orubebe) to assure you that we’ll restore the glory days of Burutu council and even make it better.
“I can assure you that we are going to bring electricity back here because this is the goose that lays the golden egg. We are going to pamper Burutu. We are going to pamper the Ijaw nation, Itsekiri nation, Ndokwa nation, Isoko nation, Urhobo nation and Anioma nation.
“We’ll ensure that 50% of the derivation money must be seen to be expended on behalf of those who produce the wealth. The era in which few persons hijack DESOPADEC funds for their personal use is over. If we say this money is for DESOPADEC, it must be used for the benefit and development of the oil-producing communities.
“We’re going to appoint credible people who will effectively manage the resources of DESOPADEC for the benefit of our people to bring industry and ensure that there’s electricity in our communities”, Omo-Agege stressed.
Omo-Agege, while soliciting votes from the people of Burutu for all APC candidates, further promised to attract investors to the state and revive ailing state-owned industries across the state.
In his welcoming remark, the Chairman of APC in Burutu LGA, Comrade Seikemiengan Moni said the people of the council will vote for Omo-Agege and other APC candidates in 2023 because the ruling PDP in the state has failed their people for too long.
Comrade Moni posited that more PDP members are joining the APC because they believed the capacity of Senator Omo-Agege who has performed credibly well as a senator representing Delta Central.
He assured the people of the council and Ijaw nation that Senator Omo-Agege’s administration would be beneficial to them and other tribes in the state.
Also speaking, the Director General of Delta APC Campaign Organisation, Elder Godsday Orubebe, lamented, “Delta Timber is dead. It employs over 500 staff. There’s no light. Omo-Agege will give us light. The port will work again. I will come back to life. He will empower our youths, women and the aged.”
Meanwhile, several chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Burutu council have defected to the APC with the assurance that they will deliver Senator Omo-Agege and other APC candidates in the forthcoming elections.
Among those who defected during the campaign train include Mr Abe Idolor, Comrade Alex Enekrogha, Lucky Otutufa, Chief Grade-One Clarke and Godspower General.
